Great Rock Stories

I don’t know about you but I just can’t have too much Greg Lake so……….this week I’m resurrecting the Thursday Interview post. Here’s a recent two part interview with Greg which happens to include a couple of great performances woven into the interview. The first part of the interview also has a great story about Lucky Man that you absolutely don’t want to miss.

Before this interview I had never heard Greg speak. I have to say I’m very impressed with his eloquence. If I wasn’t already a huge fan, this interview would have made me one. The second part is just as good….enjoy!

Al Kooper! Now….here’s the story about how Al Kooper saved the day by sitting in on the recording of Like a Rolling Stone without ever having been invited. I pieced this story together from two key sources;

An April 11, 2014 interview with Al that appeared in the Wall Street Journal

The Wikipedia article about Like A Rolling Stone

We will start with the Wikipedia article:

The recording sessions were produced by Tom Wilson on June 15–16, 1965, in Studio A of Columbia Records, 799 Seventh Avenue, in New York City. In addition to Bloomfield, the other musicians enlisted were Paul Griffin on piano, Joe Macho, Jr. on bass, Bobby Gregg on drums, and Bruce Langhorne on tambourine, all booked by Wilson. Gregg and Griffin had previously worked with Dylan and Wilson on Bringing It All Back Home.

On the first day, five takes of the song were recorded in a markedly different style from the eventual release—a 3/4 waltz time, with Dylan on piano. The lack of sheet music meant the song was played by ear. However the essence of the song was discovered in the course of the chaotic session. They did not reach the first chorus until the fourth take, but after the following harmonica fill Dylan interrupted, saying, “My voice is gone, man. You wanna try it again?” This take was subsequently released on The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991.The session ended shortly afterwards.

When the session re-convened the following day, June 16, Al Kooper joined the proceedings as a guest of Tom Wilson. Al picks up the story from this point in the Wall Street Journal interview…….

Question: How did you manage to play on a session you weren’t invited to: “Like A Rolling Stone?”

I was 21 by that time and because I wrote songs I knew a lot of producers. They would hire me to plan on sessions. So I was friends with Dylan’s producer (Tom Wilson). When he found out I was a Dylan fan he invited me to a session, not to play but to sit in the control room and watch. So I thought, I want to play on that record . I was practicing the guitar to be ready and I got there early–I wanted to pull this off before Tom Wilson could stop it. I got there 45 minutes early. But then like five minutes after I got there so did Dylan and he brought Mike Bloomfield. So I heard Bloomfield play and went into the control room where I belonged. I never heard anyone play like that, much less someone who appeared to be my age.

After a couple of rehearsal takes, Wilson moved Griffin from Hammond organ to piano. Al saw his opportunity and jumped at it but he had a couple of challenges to over come. We will let him continue the story from his Wall Street Journal interview:

Question: Then, long story short, you snuck in and played and Wilson didn’t kick you out. Had you played a Hammond organ before?

Yes, but I didn’t know how to turn it on-it’s very complicated. Also I didn’t know how to use all the controls. But (keyboardist Paul Griffin, who had moved to piano for the track) left it turned on and whatever the settings were that’s what I played.

Now let’s go back to the Wikipedia article to finish the story…..

Wilson, surprised to see Kooper at the organ, nevertheless allowed him to play on the track. Upon hearing a playback of the song, Dylan insisted that the organ be turned up in the mix, despite Wilson’s protestations that Kooper was “not an organ player.”

This session saw 15 recorded takes. The song had by now evolved into its familiar form, in 4/4 time with Dylan on electric guitar. After the fourth take—the master take that was released as a single—Wilson happily commented, “That sounds good to me.” Nevertheless, Dylan and the band persisted in recording the song 11 more times.

So, as they say, the rest was history. Al Kooper, an uninvited participant in the recording process, playing an instrument that he really wasn’t very familiar with, managed to improvise an organ riff that became one of the key elements of what is now widely recognized as one of the best songs of all time. That my friends is one of the best stories in rock history in my opinion.

Al went to to have quite a career but we will save most of that story for another day. Let me leave you with just one more tidbit. One of the great things that Al Kooper did later in career was to discover Lynyrd Skynyrd. The signature track of Lynyrd Skynyrd is a little ditty called Free Bird which happens to have a signature organ introduction. Guess who was in the studio playing that organ……yep it was none other that Al. Let’s listen….

This is the ninth in a long running series of posts that highlight rock songs featuring someone interesting sitting in on the recording session. For this series I post the song on one day and identify who is sitting in the next couple of days. I hope you enjoy the concept and maybe learn some interesting music history in the process.

My selection for today’s post is Like A Rolling Stone by Bob Dylan. This, now iconic, 1965 Dylan song has been named by Rolling Stone magazine as the greatest song of all time but getting it down on tape almost 50 years ago ended up being quite a challenge. The session was saved by a musician that wasn’t invited to sit and that ended up playing an instrument that they didn’t even know how to turn on. This is truly one of the great stories of rock music. I will give you all the details tomorrow including the identity of the musician that sat in uninvited and helped make rock history.

In the meantime let’s listen to the song. To listen, click on the link below which will take you to the official video for the song which has some really cool interactive features. I think you will enjoy it!

Now it’s your chance to show off your knowledge of music history. Post a comment with your guess about the identity of the musician that was the hero of the Like A Rolling Stone recording session. I will identify the the first person who gives the correct answer in tomorrow’s post.

Today’s Sunday Session features one of my all time favorite performers, Jackson Browne, performing with the group that released my favorite record this year, Dawes, during the Occupy Wall Street protests. Enjoy….

I have a special treat for you today. A great documentary about, Jefferson Airplane, the best of the San Francisco bands from the 1960s. This is true rock history, some amazing rock music, and a chance to observe the beautiful and talented Grace Slick in her prime. Enjoy……

If you had any doubts as to the smartest person in Crosby, Stills, and Nash I think this interview with Graham will convince you that it’s him. He’s not just a great musician and an accomplished photographer…..he’s also a successful entrepreneur. I think you will enjoy this video……..

As much as I enjoyed the interview, we can’t leave without at least one song from Graham. Here’s a really good 1874 solo performance from the Old Grey Whistle Test……

Today’s post continues our CSN focus with a great 1972 TV show about Stephen Stills. This provides some great insight into Stephen at the height of his musical power. As always, let me know what you think…….